Jeannette considers adding 2nd dog to police department

An out-of-work police dog might join Jeannette’s force, depending on whether city council wants to foot the bill for some costs for the canine and its handler.

Officer Matthew Painter was permitted to keep 5-year-old Dutch shepherd, Kilo, after he left the Uniontown department for Jeannette last year, according to Jeannette police Sgt. James Phillips.

Kilo is certified in narcotics and patrol through 2023, he has “still a lot of work life left in him,” Phillips said.

“Not only was Matt an asset to the police department, but he brought an additional asset that currently isn’t being used,” Phillips said.

He asked that Painter be added as a police dog handler for the department, joining Phillips, who works with a Belgian Malinois named Diesel. The dog was purchased with a donation from the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office from cash seizures in drug-related arrests. The pair pitched the proposal to council Wednesday.

There are police dog-related costs that the city would not incur, such as the initial purchase and training, which can be around $13,000, Phillips said. He has gotten immense community support for the department’s police dog program and was able to use donations to buy a $48,000 patrol unit last year. He holds gun bashes annually and sells T-shirts that help with the costs of equipment and training for Diesel, and previously for Arees, a now-retired German shepherd.

Phillips offered some of those donations to outfit a second police dog vehicle with extra equipment needed to keep Kilo safe, if he joins the force. But Phillips said if the city wants to move forward with the proposal, it would have to purchase a new vehicle.

Mayor Curtis Antoniak said city officials will discuss the matter.

“I hope we can put another (police dog) on,” he said. “I think it would be a tremendous asset to the police department and our residents.”